Keeneland Daily Notebook

KEENELAND DAILY NOTEBOOK

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2005

by Brian P. Turner

An outstanding field of seven three-year-old fillies went to the post for

Saturday's featured Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup S. (G1). Luas Line (Ire)

(Danehill) was sent off as the narrow favorite off of her solid score last out

in the Garden City Breeders' Cup S. (G1) at Belmont. However, after stalking the

pace early through pedestrian fractions of :25 1/5 and :50 4/5, the bay could

not hold off the late cavalry charge through the stretch drive and crossed the

finish line in sixth. As the field made their way through the stretch, it

appeared that any member of the field was capable of pulling off the victory,

and when all was said and done only four lengths separated the entire group.

In the end, it was SWEET TALKER (Stormin Fever), who was sent off as the

longest shot on the board, that got her nose down at the wire to claim the

victory in a three-way photo finish. The dark bay now holds a record of 7-5-1-1

on the grass but was virtually ignored by the betting public as she paid a solid

$39.40 for the win.

The second-longest shot on the board, European invader Karen's Caper (War

Chant), crossed the wire in second, a head in front of Gorella (Fr) (Grape Tree

Road [GB]) in third. Gorella did put in a nice move through the stretch drive

but she was probably a bit too far off a very tepid pace and the two in front of

her just had too much left at the end.

There were six sprints contested on the main track today and horses on or

near the lead won five of them while the lone route was won by a horse closing

from off the pace. As for the turf, there were three routes today and closers

won two of them.

Rafael Bejarano added a pair of winners to his total today to widen his lead

in the jockey standings and now has 14 for the meet. Robby Albarado went winless

on the day but remains in second with eight, three ahead of Edgar Prado in

third.

As for the trainers, Nick Zito still leads the way win four wins for the meet

but there is a total of five other trainers, including Bobby Frankel and Steve

Asmussen, hot on his trail with three winners each.

Horses to Watch

2ND - CATONIGHT (Katowice) had an extremely impressive career debut for

Asmussen. The chestnut bounded out of the gate and onto the lead, guiding the

field through early fractions of :21 4/5 and :46. Once he hit the stretch, the

two-year-old colt pulled clear of his competition and continued on well to the

wire for a three-length victory.

5TH - COME CLOSE (Belong To Me) was content to lay near the back of the pack

through the early stages of this turf allowance event through early opening

fractions that went in :23 3/5 and :47 2/5. The gray began to make up ground and

once the field came off the turn he unleashed a nice turn of foot, wearing down

the competition and crossing the wire three parts of a length in front under a

very professional ride by Gary Stevens.

Tomorrow's Outlook - Sunday, October 16

Sunday's feature event is the Thoroughbred Club of America S. (G3) for

fillies and mares, three-years-old and upward, going six furlongs on the main

track. Bob Baffert's undefeated BEHAVING BADLY (Pioneering) has been installed

as the morning line favorite in the field of 11. The four-year-old filly is

coming off of a nice effort in the Rancho Bernardo H. (G3) at Del Mar where she

pressed the pace early before taking over in the stretch on her way to a 1

1/4-length victory. Standing in her way will be Grade 2 winner FOREST MUSIC

(Unbridled's Song), who will be looking to rebound off of a dismal performance

in the Ballerina S. (G1) at Saratoga where she finished sixth, beaten by 17 1/2

lengths.

Sunday's forecast calls for sunny skies and highs in the upper 60s.

Sunday's Best Plays

2ND - SAINT KRIS (Kris S.) appears to be poised to finally get over the hump

in this 1 3/16-mile maiden special event. The three-year-old filly holds the

best BRIS Speed rating in the field and is second in BRIS Prime Power. Saint

Kris should handle the distance as the average winning distance of her sire's

progeny is 8.1 furlongs. Zito is having another excellent meet and wins 16

percent of the maiden special weight races he has starters in. The red hot

Bejarano has been enlisted for the ride and he has combined with Zito for a 19

percent win rate over the last 60 days.

5TH - PREMIER PERFORMER (Conquistador Cielo) will be making the turf to dirt

move for trainer Walter Bidner, a maneuver he wins with 21 percent of the time,

in this claiming event. The dark bay loves Keeneland, as he has not been off the

board in five trips over the track, and he has been off the board only once in

nine tries at the distance. Premier Performer has been competing against

stakes-company over the course of his last couple of starts and should

definitely appreciate the return to claiming competition.